CEE MARKETS-Prague index retreats from fresh high, currencies stall

PRAGUE, April 20 (Reuters) - Central Europe's currencies moved sideways on Tuesday, struggling to capitalise on a drop in the U.S. dollar as the region continued to cool after the past month's gains, while the Prague bourse's hot streak also fizzled. Prague's PX index retreated midday after climbing to its highest since January 2020 in early trade, pulled down by a correction in MONETA Money Bank shares. Among gainers, antivirus software group Avast led, with shares rising over 2% after solid first-quarter earnings led it to confirm a 2021 revenue growth outlook at the upper end of its 6-8% range. The London-listed group also led the FTSE. On currency markets, Hungary's forint was steady at 361.0 to the euro and the Polish zloty sat at 4.551, both still showing signs of a correction seen recently. "With the dovish position of the MPC, which does not indicate a possibility of interest rate hikes, further appreciation of the zloty may be limited," PKO BP said in a note. "We assume that the EUR/PLN will remain in the 4.55-4.57 range in the near future." Elsewhere, Romania's leu was down less than 0.1% a day after an auction in which the finance ministry sold more than expected. The Czech crown edged up 0.1% to 25.905 per euro, steady amid a row with Russia after Prague voiced suspicions that Russian intelligence had been involved in explosions at an ammunition depot in 2014. Moscow said the allegations were absurd. The row is the biggest between Prague and Moscow since the end of Soviet domination of eastern Europe in 1989. Utility CEZ's shares held near highs last seen in 2015 after the Czech government said on Monday it would not invite Rosatom to take part in security assessments before a planned tender for a new unit at CEZ's Dukovany nuclear power plant. That effectively rules Russia out of the deal. "Given the way the contracts with the state are set and 100% financing by the state, the course of the tender should not have a major impact on the company itself," J&T Banka analysts said. CEE SNAPSHOT AT MARKETS 1050 CET CURRENC IES Latest Previou Daily Change s bid close change in 2021 EURCZK Czech EURHUF Hungary 0 EURPLN Polish EURRON Romanian EURHRK Croatian EURRSD Serbian 0 Note: calcula 1800 daily ted CET change from STOCKS Latest Previou Daily Change s close change in 2021 .PX Prague 1106.15 1108.01 -0.17% +7.69% 00 .BUX Budapest 42089.01 42388.0 -0.71% -0.04% 9 .WIG20 Warsaw <.WIG20 1997.67 1998.99 -0.07% +0.69% > .BETI Buchares 11111.79 11103.9 +0.07% +13.32 t 6 % .SBITO Ljubljan <.SBITO 1049.96 1049.66 +0.03% +16.55 P a P> % .CRBEX Zagreb <.CRBEX 1878.36 1881.75 -0.18% +8.00% > .BELEX Belgrade <.BELEX 770.13 768.60 +0.20% +2.87% 15 15> .SOFIX Sofia <.SOFIX 521.55 520.57 +0.19% +16.54 > % BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech spread Republic CZ2YT= 2-year s CZ5YT= 5-year s CZ10YT s Poland PL2YT= 2-year s PL5YT= 5-year s PL10YT s FRA 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interba nk Czech Hungary Poland Note: FRA quotes are for ask prices ************************************ ************************** (Reporting by Jason Hovet in Prague, Alan Charlish in Warsaw, and Anita Komuves in Budapest; Editing by Jan Harvey)